SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 28 March 2024, Thursday |

Luxembourg asks Lebanon for information on central bank chief’s finances -Lebanese source

A top Lebanese judicial source confirmed to Reuters that Lebanon received a letter from Luxembourg authorities requesting information about Lebanon Central Bank Chief Riad Salameh’s bank accounts and assets.

The insider did not go into further detail.

A representative for Luxembourg’s judiciary acknowledged to Reuters in November that “a criminal case” had been initiated against Salameh and his companies and assets, but declined to disclose any details at the time.

On Friday, neither the Luxembourg judiciary nor Lebanon’s justice minister responded to calls for comment.

When asked for comment, Salameh told Reuters the request for cooperation was a “normal procedure” not a “legal suit.”

“If they had filed a legal suit they don’t need help in the investigation,” he said.

Salameh denied reports that he had been charged by Luxembourg authorities, and said both Switzerland and France had previously requested similar cooperation from Lebanon.

A spokesperson for the French embassy in Lebanon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Swiss attorney general’s office last year said it had requested legal assistance from Lebanon in the context of a probe into “aggravated money laundering” and possible embezzlement of more than $300 million under Salameh at the central bank.

France and Liechtenstein have also opened probes into alleged money laundering in relation to Salameh.

    Source:
  • Reuters